General News / Top News Holding Space

Xbox



The conference opened with COD: Modern Warfare 3.

Gameplay shown.
Visuals are good.
Started with underwater level in Hudson Bay in NYC.
Have to destroy a sub's engines and enter the sub to launch missiles.
Classic COD Michael Bay style moments of epic explosions et al.

NYC is war ravaged and the debris is everywhere.
Dramatic boat escape shown.
I can't help but feel this would be much better had the trailer not be shown a few weeks back. Particularly the dramatic surfacing to a ravaged New York skyline.


Tomb Raider


Was shown next. Very beautiful, but also quite dark and claustrophobic. Lara is 21 in this adventure and is held captive after being wrecked on a mysterious island.

Escape from captivity. Lara is pursued by a crazy person. Lara is broken and more human than before, and you definitely feel this is the beginnings and what made the character (in this reboot).

The game seems more survival / instinct based.
Open environment.

Autumn 2012.

EA Sports was next.
4 Kinect games -

Tiger Woods Golf (Kinect affair with blonde add on pack unknown)
NFL
Fifa

Sims Pets will use Kinect too.

Mass Effect 3

Kinect confirmed.
First gameplay shown. - Salarian Homeworld
Lack of HUD.
Kinect seems to be more use of Voice.
Speak the choices and speak commands to your team.
(This is actually better than I hoped and makes me glad they are just using a small feature. Quite like the idea of telling my party what to do. Will improve gameplay)

Mordin confirmed.
Mechs suit shown.


Part of me wonders whether this could be done with a headset. Would have felt more Sci-Fi (ignoring the fact I can't really use headsets)

(in my notes I put a little heart next to Dr Ray's name. I love him )

Tim Clancy Ghost Recon Future Soldier came next.

Really pretty but looks kind of like an average COD-esque shooter.

All future Tom Clancy games will use Kinect.
Gestures for game combat and also in menus and weapon customisation.

Can also use voice to tell the game to optimise for different contexts or randomise, and over 20 million variations of weapons are available.

Xbox Live was the focus after this.

Becoming more voice integrated. (Are MS realising that gestures with Kinect are really shit and laggy and make your arm kill??)

10 new entertainment partners and YouTube is coming to Xbox.

Bing is also being integrated with Xbox live to allow searches with the Live area.
Say and search optimised.

Live TV is coming to Xbox and it seems a continuation of their partnership with Sky here in the UK.
Launches in Autumn.

UFC Live was shown. Allows interaction during live bouts. "Call the fight" for instance allowing you to guess who will win etc

Gears 3 shown. Cliffy B is still fit.
Set two years after the previous game.
Seems very "Gears" in gameplay and styling.

Trailer for Ryse shown. First person combat adventure set during the fall of Rome. Gesture combat.





Halo Anniversary was shown. HD remake, multiplayer maps etc etc.
Out November.

Forza 4
"car community"
great graphics.
Kinect head tracking and voice control.
Top Gear branding used.
October this year.

Fable: The Journey
2012
First person adventure.
Uses Kinect.
Gestures for spells.
Looks pretty, could be interesting.

Minecraft
Will be making its Console debut on Xbox and uses Kinect.

Disney collaborative game featuring Disney parks and attractions (mini games)
Peter Pan's flight was shown.

Annoying child actors, a theme.

Kinect Star Wars was met with cheers even though it is a little laggy still. Looks pretty. Sabre combat and actions via gesture. Space Combat and Pod Racing also included.

Sesame Street Once Upon a Monster shown. Uses Kinect. Again annoying child actor and "dad".. I had to stifle giggles when he told the child to "get that big one" during one of the minigames. Elmo FTW.

Autumn release.

Kinect Fun Labs was next. This is a permanent dash feature and will include all the tech demos and tweaks etc from the Kinect community and Xbox developers.

Avatar generation via Kinect cameras was shown (NB: Nintendo does this on the 3DS try to keep up Microsoft).. Kinect finger tracking to doodle on photos (again Nintendo does this albeit via touch screen) and you can scan objects to appear in your virtual world. This last part may be interesting for the Sims or for other novelty games.

Kinect Sports 2 shown.
6 new sports inc. Skiing and tennis.
Voice integration and more gestures.

American Football was shown and it is as stupid as you imagine.

Dance Central 2 was shown.
Voice control.
Import dance central songs.
multiplayer.
Campaign mode.
(I remain convinced that he latter two were deliberately left out of the first game to boost a sequel)

Finally Halo 4 got a proper public outing as the start of a new Trilogy.



So...

What a load of shit.
A lot of it was about voice and Kinect as predicted.
The only interesting things were Mass 3 and Minecraft.

SONY




The conference began with a trailer showing off NGP/Vita, Move, PSP and PS3 games and functions. A wide range was shown including: Uncharted, Captain America, FF13-2, Bioshock Infinite and many many others.

A lot of the demos were in 3D.

After a PSN speech and the addition of CinemaNow to their entertainment package Uncharted 3 was shown and demoed on stage.

It looks gorgeous.
Cruise ship locale shown - a storm is raging and it seems to have a tense atmosphere whilst Drake is creeping around. Gunfight happens then the ship begins to sink, cue Drake running about trying to escape. Game will be in 3D and this was reiterated.

Due 1/11/11.

Jack is acting incredibly smug about the game. I hate him. He is the most dull presenter ever.

Resistance 3 was demoed live.
(the guy had a pink pad )

Great looking if a bit standard FPS style.
Lots happening on screen. Set 1957.
Uses move.

Sony offering a bundle with this game plus everything you need for move and the sharpshooter peripheral for $150.

2 HD collections due in September.
God of War Origins remastered PSP and PS2 God of War titles in 3D.

ICO and Shadow of The Colossus will also be available and in 3D.

Sony are offering 2 new hardware packages to make getting into 3D gaming easier.

1: PlaySation branded 24" HD 3D telly with Resistance, 3D spex, HDMI cable and has the ability to show 2 players their own screen, thus doing away with the splitscreen for local gameplay.
$499
2: New 3D glasses at $69.99 a pop

Due Autumn.

Next the focus shifted to Move

NBA 2K12 was shown and played by Kobe Bryant.

Mediaxxxx moves was also detailed and shown. Offers bow, throwing stars and sorcery with no weapon screens - all gesture based. Motion mechanic puzzles will be included. With many branching paths in each locale.
Autumn 2011

An explosive InFamous 2 trailer was shown and there will be the chance, in Autumn, for players to create user generated content.

LB2 will also get an update for Move and user generation will be made easier.

New Starhawk stuffs was shown. Looks interesting if a bit standard/generic.

New Sly Cooper game was announced.

Gorgeous art style, subtitled Thieves in Time .

Next Dust 514 was shown. PS3 Exclusive.
Shooter with planetary conquest. This game links with the popular EVE online PC game. Uses move and there will be some NGP stuff.

Bioshock Infinite was shown as Ken Levine took to the stage. It continues to look stunning. Move control was confirmed and he announced they are working on a Bioshiock Portable title. and that with Infinite, the original Bioshock will come on the BRD.

Saints Row the Third was dated for 15th November in NA and the PS3 will have an exclusive mode and content.

A new Star Trek game was shown that will tie in to 2012s Star Trek reboot sequel. Will use Move and there will be a phaser peripheral.
There will be a DLC prequel game.
Co Op. Looks very dramatic, if a bit Mass Effect.
Also will be in 3D.

Some EA games PS3 exclusive content was detailed.
SSX will get a mount Fuji level.
Need for Speed: The run will come with an extra 7 sports cars.
Battlefield 3 will have Battlefield 1943 included on the disc.

PlayStation Suite was mentioned. PlayStation content on certified devices (eg: android)

PlaySation Vita confirmed.

Partnering with AT+T in the states.
Social experience pushed.

Party Room - chat and lobby of sorts with VOIP chat.
near - social network and local location based stuff.

The elements of social networking are critical to Vita - apparently.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss shown. Seems to be the premier Vita title.
Mix of traditional controls and touch and tilt. Looks okay.

However... It seems to me that the touch touch touch touch element was over simplified and repetitive.. I want interesting uses of a touch screen not just "tap that enemy to punch". It seems very iPhone.

Ruin was shown. Average looking RPG. Dungeon crawler. Get rivals. Very much social networked integrated. "Cloud based" rhetoric. Can link with PS3 and play on big screen.

ModNation Racers for Vita shown. As you would expect. Lots of "touch this to put this there". Again, social aspects pushed. Likewise with Little Big Planet for Vita.

Street Fighter X Tekken for Vita announced. Looks okay, your standard SF action. Touch controls used too.

80 titles are in development for Vita.

Vita is due in Autumn 2011 and will retail for:

WiFi: 249 (dollar and euro)
WiFi and 3G: 299 (dollar and euro)




I'm very surprised at the price of Vita. I imagine they have gutted it right down and specs were absent - unusual for Sony.

Games wise... nothing blew me away apart from the gorgeous Drake.. I mean, Uncharted.

Social networking and 3D were the big push.

Nintendo



Nintendo started the show with a tribute to Zelda. It's the 25th Anniversary.

An orchestra opened the show with music from many Zelda games.

It was absolutely beautiful and brought back a lot of memories.

A montage accompanied the music inc. new Skyward Sword footage.

Miyamoto-San came out and spoke about Zelda and also acted silly (which is why I love him and he is my favourite)

For the anniversary Nintendo are doing the following:

Link's Awakening will be added to the eStore tonight.
4 Swords will be made available, for free on DSiWare.

There will also be a global tour of the Zelda Symphony Orchestra in the Autumn.
There will be 2 audio CDs of Zelda music.

One OoT when you register the 3D Oot and the other one out around the time of Skyward Sword of the Orchestra.


The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will be out around Christmas.

There will also be a special golden Wii Remote out when it is released.

Fact: Over 200 people internally to Nintendo have worked on Zelda in the past 25 years.

Iwata-San is on stage.

Discussion the mantra of the new home console. Who? Where? How?
To serve every player

Next the focus shifted onto the 3DS:

Mario Kart 3DS

Visually great. Same style as Mario Kart Wii.

Hang gliders during big jumps and underwater propellers.

You can now modify karts.
Out at Christmas.

Star Fox 64 3D

Group play features the camera recording all the action which is displayed about your Arwing.
Out in the States in September.

Super Mario 3D

Built from scratch for the 3DS.

Typical Mario style platforming. Bold, bright, beautiful colours.

Features the return of a very special suit.....

Out before the end of the year.

Kid Icarus

More details on the shooter/action title from Sakurai and Project Sora.
Looks even better than before, high octane action with pretty camp voice acting (which will be amazing )

Multiplayer shown. 3 on 3 matches.
Comes with AR battling cards.

Out September.

Luigi's Mansion 2

(YAY)
Return of the Gamecube Launch title starring everyone's favourite Brother.
Brand new title, not a remake.
Same visual style.
Many mansions.
Looks amazing.

3rd Party games were shown:
(select list)

Mario and Sonic at the Olympics 2012
Ace Combat 3D
Tetris 3D
Cave Story 3D
Resident Evil Revelations
Driver: Renegade
Pac Man + Galaga
Tekken 3D
Metal Gear Solid 3D


The eShop was spoken about which launched today.
Demos are coming later in the year of BOTH retail and DL titles.



Now.. The presentation moved onto the new console.

Wii-U
Out next year.
The controller has many functions and is almost tablet-esque.
Touch screen is 6.2" and it has all the usual buttons and two sliders (like the excellent one on the 3DS)
Screen is a "new window".

You can switch from playing games on the main telly, to the screen.
You can use it separately to play other games or within multiplayer games so you have your own screen, or as an extension of the game you are playing - Zelda menu was shown, for instance.

It allows you to view things in a new way and use it as a visual extension to the game you are playing.

You can also use it to brose the web, share images straight to the TV - via a simple swipe AND make video calls.

Iwata-san announces a NEW Smash Brothers for BOTH 3DS and Wii-U and they will interact somehow.

A lot of the graphics looked very average in the images and videos they were showing.... Until the most beautiful video of a Bird flying through a cherry blossom garden and featured the best looking water I have ever seen. It looked REAL.

They then detailed the tech demos that will be available. Mii Chase, for instance and one where you are a pilot using the controller to look down on a scene whilst the other players use wii remotes to shoot you.

A new LEGO title was announced as a launch. LEGO City Stories open world game that is Nintendo published. LEGO games are huge, so this will be well met.

The next video was the developers discussion the console and controller.
We see people from Ubisoft, EA, Irrational, Capcom.

Now... Games that will be headed to Wii-U:

Darksiders 2 (launch title)
Tekken
ARKHAM CITY
Assassin's Creed
Ghost Recon
EA Sports franchises
DIRT
Aliens: Colonial Marines.
Metro: last light
Ninja Gaiden 3


All of these titles looked great. Extremely high quality visuals and production values.

Next, and in a VERY unusual move, which goes to show Nintendo's commitment and new relationship with 3rd Party Publishers, the EA CEO appears on stage to discuss his views.

His comments are that there's a strong online presence, DLC with leader boards and a "much deeper online£ experience. EA Titles are coming to Wii-U.
Battlefield, for instance, was discussed, he seemed very optimistic about the relationship that has been forged.





So.... Name aside.. Stunning graphics.. I was a but "meh" at first, sceptical almost, but as the presentation went on I really got it and I'm really excited to see what the Wii-U brings.

3DS wise.. It's going to be a very expensive Christmas that's for sure.

All hail Mikes
Looking forward to the spectacle that is E3 once more.

TOMORROW.

TODAY.

Gamespot generally do really good streams:

http://e3.gamespot.com/press-conference/?t...3Bvideo%3Bpress

Engadget: "For now, all we know is that the NGP will be large and in charge at E3"

Large, as in it's a massive brick.. Yes.

In charge. Doubtful. People have already seen it. It's all about the New Nintendo.

Why is Nintendo last, it's the only conference I'm relaly looking forward to.
Well I hope we get some surprise announcements from 3. party developers too.

They traditional have that slot. Sony usually go last after Nintendo at 11 PST.

This makes me wonder in the N conference may be 2 hours instead of the usual hour and half.

Erm the new Nintendo Controller is expected to be BIGGER than the NGP.

Yeah, you don't need to tell me anything love.

Home console controller bigger than portable shocker.


Difference: home console controller : Portable Games Console.

Why don't people wait till tomorrow before they start complaining?

In fairness the iPad is pushed as a portable device and that's not exactly tiny.

XBOX get more exciting.
XBOX get more exciting!
XBOX GET MORE EXCITING!!!!
Shit not working.


I liked that big fat worm thing.

Gears of War 3 predictably unimpressive.

But Ryse with the Kinect control looks awesomely violent.

Oh boy Rome looked so amazing and then they brought that shit Kinect into it.

And here comes Halo...

I think Kinect on Ryse has the potential to be kind of awesome. Although I suspect that novelty would wear off pretty soon.

I hate Halo. But I hate FPS in general.

Go Kanye!

Forza looks pretty but its a racing game.

Meanwhile someone just pointed out to me that the 360 now has 5 Halo games (is that right?). That seems like an absurd amount. Maybe its time to put the franchise to bed?

Fable looks nice, one of very few X-Box exclusives I'm interested in.
Main character looks goofy though.
And again with the Kinect shit.

And just when you thought things couldn't get worse than Fable 3 they went and added Kinect controls to Fable: The Journey so now you'll feel like a complete dick whilst playing it...

What the fuck is Minecraft? And is there any game on the 360 that doesn't use Kinect?

Urgh a friend of mine loves that game with the quaters.

Mr.R since when do developers put successful franchises aside?

And seriously a Kinect game that is just walking around Disneyland?

EDIT - Ok Disneyland Adventures isn't as bad as I thought it was. There's mini-games within it so it actually plays as a game. These child actors Microsoft have hired are bloody annoying though.

Oh my, look at those adroeable completely natural acting kids.

Naughty Dog stopped making Crash games although I'm not sure how successful they were at the end...

And here comes Star Wars. Just how much lag will there be...

Those guys doing the games are cute.

Probably not that successful otherwise they wouldn't have stopped.

Seriously how shit is Kinect?!
How long do they think you can play a game like this?
5 or 10 minutes and you're out of breath.

Star Wars Kinect looks awful. Graphically its bad and the Kinect control looks beyond clunky, slow and unresponsive. It also highlights my problem with Kinect - do you not just feel like a giant dick using it? You're just standing their waving your arms around.

Sesame Street! Yes!

For what it is and who its aimed at Sesame Street looks pretty good. I can see it working pretty well and its one of those times that Kinect actually works because putting kids in front of this with Kinect wouldn't be completely horrible parenting.

REALLY?!

I think it works. One of the best uses for Kinect I've seen to date.

Controller free my arse!

Well yeah it's a cute game but seriously you do the E3 press conference and that is one of your highlights?

Why is this Kinect Fun Lab bloke wearing sunglasses? He's inside and in a pretty dark room. I hate him.

Oh she did not just do the Mario catchphrase!
Bitch!

Where did the cute guys go? It was the only thing holding my interest...

lol how embarrasing, took them ages to start clapping. Cringe.

Is that like her bestest and only friend in the world?
Wouldn't surprise me.

I'd scan in a big sharp kitchen knife!

Could they copy Wii Sport any more carbon?

This Kinect Fun Labs seems impressive in theory but I'm not sure how well the reality is going to match up. Yes being able to scan in objects and play with them in game sounds like a good idea but I'm assuming you didn't actually scan a car and drive around in it in game because you can't actually do that yet...

Well go on a real golf course then stupid.

Kinect Sports 2 looks really laggy (is that even a word?).

And the football looks awful. And could Microsoft have hired more annoying actors? I think not. And again I can't help but feel that if I were to actually play with Kinect I would feel like a massive dick.

Oh here we go. Fitty alert.

You're right Mr R they do look like twats when they play.

Is that the same guy from last year?
He got a make over. Nice!
I remember her too.

That dance game is the only one where Kinect actually makes sense.

Watching this Dance Central demo I'm struck by two thoughts

1 - I miss dance mats those were awesome.
2 - Who on earth plays these games? You have to actually be able to dance and even then you look like a complete idiot.

Kinect combined with the intelligence of Bing...

I LOL'd

And Microsoft close with another Halo game. Good lord.

So watching Microsoft's conference I'm struck by a simple thought - if you don't own or like Kinect then Microsoft don't like or care about you.

And Halo again.

That was so lame. Nothing anything remotely interesting.

Thx Mr. R. it was a pleasure.

Another issue with Kinect - doesn't it just put every game on rails and completely remove freedom of movement?


Not just that they've announced an all-new trilogy. Halo 4, 5 and 6 all coming. Jesus...

Skyrim looks impressive if Elder Scrolls is your kind of thing. They're touting at least 300 hours of gameplay as well which is insane.

Arkham City preview looks phenomenal.

It pains me to say this (because its an FPS and it pains me to say anything nice about an FPS) but Modern Warfare 3 looks amazing. The inner city setting is fantastic. Although I can't really vouch for how different this is to MW1 or 2.

EA conference begins in about 15 minutes.

What's the line up?

EA beginning with Mass Effect 3

Battlefield 3, new Insomniac title, the sports franchises, possibly some new Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic details and apparently some surprises to come.

Yeah who buys the third part of a trilogy when they didn't play 1 and 2?